Dried Up, Tied Up, And Dead To The World
by mila-the-natural-mystic
Summary: Follow Kali as she struggles to find her true self through the wild jungle of the Rook Islands. Will she become the prey or the predator?
1. Prologue

**_Author's Note_ : Hi, everyone! Just wanted to let you know that I've started a new story about Vaas and one of my OCs, and I just wanted to test the waters and see what you think! **

**I know Far Cry stories don't get the attention they deserve, especially Vaas' stories, but I still hope you guys find some interest in this.**

 **I've already planned out the whole story, and will now give you a taste of the Prologue for the first part, named ' Dried Up, Tied Up, And Dead To The World'.**

 **Enjoy, and don't forget to review and let me know what you think of this, because it's really important to me (and it motivates me to write more!)**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Far Cry 3, nor any of its characters. However, I do own all of my OCs._**

* * *

 _ **Prologue**_

« _Life is a question mark…_ » were the thoughts of the brunette sitting alone on a bench in the hot Bangkok night.

Sometimes she would come up with sentences that would make her wonder for hours, without ever finding an answer. Not that she enjoyed doing so, but it was something she had come up with to forget the stress she lived under.

Her light-green eyes were restlessly searching for some kind of sign to tell her it was time to go. She had no idea where to go, but she knew she would have to move soon.

Her instincts took over her at the sight of a group of cops patrolling around the busy streets full of people. They probably wouldn't see her where she was, but she still wanted to move, to make sure that no one would recognize her. She started to frantically look around her until her eyes fell upon a large neon sign with the words « LURTZ NIGHTCLUB » written in red on it.

« _Isn't Lurtz that badass Uruk-Hai that killed Boromir in the Fellowship of the Ring?_ » she thought. She had always been a Lord of the Rings fan, so she couldn't pass up a chance like this, even if she was aware it was probably a big coincidence.

She glanced back at the group of policemen and, seeing they had moved down the street without noticing her like she had expected, she stood up and made her way towards the nightclub. She still half-hoped that there were people dressed as Uruk-Hai inside, but she was soon disappointed when all she saw was fake girls moving their fake junk around for men to notice.

She made her way through the crowd towards the bar, moving around the dancing bodies of the customers. When she got to the bar she asked for a beer over the loud dubstep music and handed the barman a bill, but someone grabbed her hand to stop her.

« It's on me, » said a man, around 25 years old. He was about her height, blond and with dark eyes that reminded her of a pig's.

« Let go. » she said, glaring at him. When he didn't respond, she pulled her hand from his and handed the bartender the bill she had intended to give from the beginning. « You can keep the rest. » she said to the man behind the bar and left.

« Hey, what's the matter with you? Come dance with me! » the guy kept insisting and she was starting to have enough of him and his British accent.

« Dude, fuck off. » she said, pushing him out of her way. Maybe she had pushed a little hard since he stumbled and ended up on the floor with a couple of drinks on his expensive-looking blue dress shirt.

Realizing she had just made an enemy, the brunette decided to quickly get out of his sight before he stood back up. Thankfully, he wasn't very tall, so he wouldn't notice her if she stayed as far away from him as possible. The best thing she had to do would be to just go somewhere else. « _They're not even dressed like Uruk-Hai here…_ » she thought sadly.

She started looking for the way out, but realized that the man had outsmarted her and was standing near the exit, scanning the crowd for her.

She sighed and decided it would be better to just find someone so it would look like she wasn't alone, then maybe the stupid Englishman would cut her some slack.

The brunette took a long sip from her beer and sighed once more as she looked around, searching for someone to get to know. Her green eyes fell upon a strong-looking man with a dark mohawk and bearing a large scar from the top of his head all the way down to his left eye, cutting his eyebrow in half. He was wearing a dark grey tight shirt that didn't hide much of his muscles, as well as a pair of knee-length black cargo shorts and a pair of black and white ADIDAS sneakers. He was sitting like he owned the place, and seemed to be keeping watch over the workers.

The brunette decided she should try to find someone else because not only did he seem dangerous, but also he was exactly her type and she didn't want to have sex with a man she would probably never see again.

She was about to look away when his eyes met hers. She suddenly felt like nothing else mattered, no one was around them, watching them. She felt like his piercing gaze could read through her, and she was afraid of getting to know him, afraid he could destroy her. But at the same time she was drawn towards him and before she could realize what she was doing her body had moved and sat itself right next to him.

The tension seemed to be unbearable, for he had not yet looked away.

« Relax, hermana. You seem tense. » he said, his voice clear over the loud music. Only then did she notice how close they were. His lips were practically touching her ear, and she wanted to lean against him, but he moved back to his original spot.

The brunette took a sip from her beer and decided to relieve her muscles from all the tension she was forcing upon them. Feeling lighter, she turned her head to look at the mohawked man on her right and said, « You seem tense yourself. »

« I'm always like this. » he grinned. « What's your name? »

The brunette turned back to look at the crowd and wondered if she should tell him her real name. She was afraid he had heard about her and called security to take her to the nearest police station.

« I know you're hiding from something. Or someone. You can tell me your name, I'm no snitch. » he assured her. Once again, she could see his eyes studying her. Had he known her thoughts just by looking at her? Was that even possible…?

« Kali. » She said. « That's all you need to know. » she finished, turning back to look at him.

« Kali? I'm Vaas. » he said, smirking slightly at her expression. « What brings you here, Kali? »

Kali turned once again to the dancing people and saw the British guy walking around, probably searching for her. This was her chance to escape, but suddenly she felt entranced to stay with Vaas and get to know him better.

« I'm not sure myself… » she explained. « But once I got here, that guy in the blue shirt started hitting on me so I pushed him and now he's pissed at me. He's been walking around searching for me. »

Vaas' eyes moved from her to the blond man in the wet blue dress shirt. He glared and squinted his eyes in the slightest, looking like he was thinking of something. Finally, he looked back at her and said, « Don't worry about him. »

« I'm not. I just don't want to start a scene. » she shrugged.

« That would be a bad idea. »

The two had spoken for a while, and Kali was starting to like his personality, as well as his knowledge, not to mention his looks. But Vaas seemed to be thinking the same thing. However, she could only think it was all too good to be true. There had to be something wrong with him. She assumed he got into a lot of fights, which could be why he had that scary-looking scar. Kali had always been a curious girl, and being herself, she couldn't help but ask him about the scar, hoping it wouldn't upset him.

« Sorry, I have to ask. » she started. « What's with the scar? »

« Does it scare you? » he asked, looking away from her, his gaze darkening in the slightest.

« No, I like it. But you probably don't. »

« I don't mind, actually. I forget it's there if I can't see it. » he paused and furrowed his eyebrows, seeming to be in deep thought. « It's unfinished business. » he finally said, and it was enough for Kali to understand that he was indeed a dangerous man.

And yet again, it didn't seem to bother her.

They kept talking and drinking. None of them wanted to dance because the music wasn't to their taste. At some point, Kali had gone to the bar to buy some drinks because she was tired of Vaas always going (she had completely forgotten about the British guy), and a couple of women had taken the chance to move next to Vaas, stealing Kali's place. Vaas hadn't really paid attention to them and told them to leave, offending them. When Kali had come back with the drinks, she was surprised to find the two women glaring daggers at her, and talking (probably to say mean things about her), which made her laugh and scoot a little bit closer to Vaas.

They had both reached a point where Vaas had his arm draped over Kali's shoulders and she was leaning against him. They were both very drunk when they decided to leave. Kali was surprised to find the perverted English guy was still standing near the exit door. He was glaring at her, but quickly looked away when he saw Vaas. She realized he could be very intimidating (and so could Kali, but she tried to act normal most of the time), which is always a good thing when you want to avoid fighting. But the other guy seemed to be almost as drunk as them, because he still came over to them and said to Kali, « So you ignored me for this guy? »

« Get the fuck outta my way, » she told him « You're not making any sense. »

« You're gonna dance with me now! I've been waiting all night for your sweet ass. » the man said again and moved his arm to touch Kali's, probably to pull her away from Vaas, who still had his arm over her shoulders.

That seemed to annoy the mohawked man as he suddenly grabbed the man by the throat and lifted him off the ground before pinning him against the exit door. Kali had never seen someone moving another human so easily and wondered just how strong he was.

« She told you to fuck off, hermano. So fuck off! » Vaas shouted and threw the man to the side, spitting at him before leading Kali out the door.

Kali knew she shouldn't be hanging around with a dangerous man like Vaas, but she was in a state where she didn't really care. She still thought it would be a good idea to tell him where she stood so that he didn't get the wrong idea.

« You know… » Kali started. « As much as I want to, I'm not going to have sex with you, Vaas. »

That seemed to surprise him and he stopped to stare at her.

« Why are you saying that? » he asked, confused.

« Because I don't want you to think that I will. So that you won't tell me that I'm leading you on. » she explained.

« You are, but that's fine. I'm not into rape. » he grinned.

Kali twitched, her head suddenly became heavy with memories. Bad memories. If she stayed around Vaas any longer she would probably lose control. She was afraid of that. She didn't want to hurt him, but at the same time, she wanted revenge. She would never get her revenge. Her fists started to tremble and she cast her sight downwards, glaring at the ground and imagining horrible things.

« Calm down, chica. » Vaas' voice reached her ears, softer than ever. « Did I struck a nerve? »

Kali lifted her face so she could glare at his wild, dark-green eyes.

« Let me go. » she said abruptly. « It's my fault, I know, but… Just let me go, please. »

« You can go wherever you want. » Vaas said, and Kali realized he wasn't touching her.

« Sorry. » she said, before turning away.

She had left a very intrigued Vaas behind, and that happened rarely to him. His curiosity had been stroked by the green-eyed brunette, and he wanted to get to know her better. He saw the anger in her eyes, and recognized it as the same anger he saw whenever he looked in a mirror. Vaas decided she would be a good soldier. But he wasn't sure if she could handle it yet. He was willing to try, anyhow.

Ӂ

Kali had started to run without even noticing. She could no longer feel the alcohol in her veins. All she wanted was to go back to the hotel she was staying at and take a hot shower. Her thoughts went back to Vaas, and she felt stupid for leaving him alone. But at the same time, where would she go with him? And why did she suddenly regain all her logic as soon as she was apart from him?

She stopped running, and looked around. The streets weren't as busy in that area. She wasn't that far from the hotel, but she decided she might as well go back and try to find Vaas. Maybe invite him to watch some movies with her in her room. She knew it sounded childish, but she actually enjoyed spending quality time with interesting people, although she really couldn't have sex with a stranger. She would keep herself as clean as she could for the father of her children. But she still wanted to get to know Vaas, she felt somehow drawn towards him, like he was pulling at her.

She was about to turn around to try and look for him when the British man from the Lurtz spoke: « Fancy seeing you here, milady. »

« Cut the fake accent, Brad! » said a second voice.

« Yeah, I probably should. » Brad said, speaking perfect American.

Kali sighed and turned around to face the two men.

« Don't you have anything else to do? You're about to get your ass kicked, you know? » Kali warned him.

She took a good look at him and noticed he not only had his shirt stained, he also had a new acquisition on his neck; a large bruise was spreading where Vaas had choked him one-handedly. She then glanced at his friend, noticing he was much taller than Brad, but skinny and badly-dressed. He had short light-brown hair and brown eyes, and his skin was as pale as the dead.

« Where's your boyfriend? » Brad asked, rubbing his neck gently.

« Are you really trying to fuck me up right now? I swear I'm gonna hurt you. » Kali told him once more.

« I'm just gonna fuck you, then throw you away, bitch! Tony, grab her legs! »

Kali was surprised when Tony, the skinny guy, threw himself at her and blocked her legs, while Brad grabbed her arms. They managed to lift her up and carry her to a dark and narrow alleyway. Kali was starting to lose control, and when Brad started to touch her while his friend was pinning her down, she realized she was about to get raped. She felt a blind rage invade her mind and body and before she knew it she was hitting Brad, punching the brains out of him, literally. And Tony was nowhere in sight.

Everything went-by too fast for her to realize how it happened, but she could only come to the conclusion that she had killed a man that had tried to rape her.

She couldn't live with herself any longer. Brad was the second man she killed.

How could she lose control like that and become enraged to the point of no return?

She walked out of the alleyway, not caring if someone had seen her, or heard her. She made her way towards a high bridge and decided she would put an end to her life.

Kali moved slowly, ignoring the cars speeding all around her. She saw Vaas. Or at least she thought it was him. She wasn't sure if she was awake or dreaming anymore. Maybe she was already dead and hadn't felt any pain.

« I knew you'd end up killing someone. » Vaas said as he approached her. « I could see it in your eyes. »

« You're not here. » she mumbled, and he had a hard time comprehending what she said over the loud cars, but when he did he started laughing.

« You're awake, hermana. You just haven't accepted it yet. »

« It's not the first time… I've done it… before. » she said.

« Oh yeah, why? »

« He hurt me. »

« Then he deserved it? » Vaas pressed.

« Yes. »

« Then you did the world a fucking favor! » Vaas said, lifting her head.

Kali stared into his wild eyes and tried to understand all the feelings hidden inside, but it seemed to be impossible. Maybe one day she would be able to. In the afterlife.

« I have to die. I can't live with myself. » she said, moving away from him and approaching the edge.

« With your old self. But you can become someone stronger. Version 2.0, no? Come with me, hermana. If you're useless I'll kill you myself and make it painless. » Vaas said, leading her to believe that he was used to death.

« How did you find me? » she asked.

« You found me. » he grinned, cocking his head to the side without breaking eye contact.

She realized he was right. But she still wasn't convinced.

« I want to go with you, but I can't. » Kali explained, trying to think rationally. « I'm wanted by the Government. They'd find me. »

« Not in my Island. The Rook Islands are a lawless paradise where the only justice is your own. And it's fucking amazing! » He boasted.

« What…? »

« You can do whatever you want. Or at least, I can. » She could swear she saw an evil glint in his jungle eyes.

« Where is it? »

« Not far. We'd have to grab my boat first. » he replied, victory shining in his eyes.

Kali took a last glance at the water below them. There was no point in getting all deep in thought. Either she wanted to live or to die.

« Okay. » she finally answered. Either way, she had nothing left to lose.

* * *

 **A/N: So, how was it?**

 **I would also like you to know that the first part of the story (Dried Up, Tied Up, And Dead To The World) is named after a Marilyn Manson song, and the chapters I've written so far all have song titles.**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	2. 1 - Gehenna

**A/N: Hello again, to those of you who are still here! I'm going to move the story along a little more, so you don't wait too long (I know I hate that), so tell me what you think!**

 **I would like to thank my first reader, especially since it's someone that has inspired me and motivated me to write this: eroomally, who has written lots of wonderful and refreshing stories! Go check out her page! :D**

 **Like I said before, I'm going to name the chapter after songs that I love and that inspired me to write this. This one is Gehenna, by Slipknot.**

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own FarCry 3.**_

* * *

 **1 -** _ **Gehenna  
**_

The first boat ride of her life wasn't nearly as scary as Kali thought it would be. It was a big enough boat, with seats and a small cabin where she had found a toilet and a single bed. Vaas had told Kali to sleep during the trip because she would be too tired once they got to their destination. Kali had simply told him that she didn't want to, but failed miserably as she fell asleep on the seats outside instead of using the comfort of the bed inside. She had managed to sleep for a couple of hours before the cold wind of the dawn woke her.

She sat up and looked around, slightly confused as to where they were. She saw a large island in front of her, contrasting with the rising sunrays. It wasn't too far away and she turned back around to ask Vaas if that was their destination.

« Yes. » he said, but not before making fun of her after she had sneezed loudly due to being cold.

« How long 'till we get there? » Kali asked again, as she made her way to the cabin to search for a warmer change of clothes. Vaas had accompanied her to her hotel room to get her things before they had left for his island.

« Half an hour. » he answered, before suggesting, « You should change into something practical, there's jungle everywhere. »

Kali didn't answer, but a couple of minutes later she came back out, looking like a Lara Croft cosplayer, only she had let her hair untied and was missing the guns and the holsters. She was wearing a pair of black, knee-high Doc Martens, a pair of black shorts, a white tank-top and a black leather jacket.

Vaas glanced at her before shaking his head in amusement.

Kali sat where she had been previously sleeping and looked at the water, carelessly dropping her hand so it could touch it.

« I wouldn't do that if I were you. » Vaas said, some urgency in his voice.

Kali frowned in confusion, but quickly understood what he meant when she saw a couple of dark spots moving around the boat, and quickly withdrew her hand from the water.

« Sharks? Seriously? » she complained.

« And those are mean ones. » Vaas replied, nodding. He turned the wheel slightly before grabbing a cigarette and offering one to Kali, who accepted.

Like Vaas had said, it took around half an hour for them to reach the coast.

Kali had no idea what to expect, but she was surprised and slightly dubious about his role in the island. Sure he said it was his island, but as far as Kali could understand, there were two islands. Also, as soon as they arrived, a couple of men wearing red and carrying guns seemed to have been waiting for Vaas' arrival because as soon as they saw him they immediately greeted him with respect and quickly handed him a couple of guns. They had glared at Kali, and the man wearing a bandanna over his mouth and aviator glasses took a step towards her, but was stopped by Vaas, who told him she wasn't a prisoner.

Following that little scene, Kali quickly realized that not only was Vaas a figure of authority around those parts, he also had prisoners. He had told his men that she wasn't one, but she wondered how often they captured people, seeing how naturally the man had moved to grab her.

« I'm taking a car. » Vaas said to the men. « Don't tell anyone I'm back, and start patrolling around the main road. »

« Yes, Boss! » the two men quickly answered and proceeded to walk away.

Vaas entered a red jeep and motioned for Kali to follow him. He started the engine as she shut the door and started driving in the direction his men had gone.

« So this is your island? » Kali asked, as they passed by the two men in red.

« That's right. » Vaas nodded, grabbing another cigarette and offering the last one to Kali.

« And how come you have men with guns working for you? How come you have guns? » she asked again, afraid of his answer.

Vaas took a while before answering, but when he did he couldn't have been more vague, « There's a sort of little war going on between us and the natives. They're the warrior tribe of the islands. »

« You brought me to an island that is in the middle of a war…? » Kali repeated, glaring at the mohawked man.

« Relax, hermana. Those dogs are meaningless. What I want is the head of the bitch they take orders from. »

Kali chose to remain silent, not sure of what to say. Vaas' killing intent when he spoke of the woman he wanted dead had scared her enough to make her think she never wanted to be his enemy. Still, she wondered why she had followed him. Maybe she should have just jumped, back in Bangkok. She never should have sat next to him in the club. Better yet, she never should have entered that club, and maybe then she wouldn't have met and killed Brad, and she wouldn't have met Vaas and followed him all the way to the middle of nowhere where she had nowhere to escape to.

Even though Kali saw Vaas differently when they entered his island, he still seemed to be kind enough, as he drove her around the island and told her a little about its history. How it has been invaded many times in the past centuries; first in the fifteenth century, by Lin Cong who had hidden Zheng He's Chaoyang somewhere, and it has never been found. Vaas told Kali how Cong had enslaved the natives and forced them to build towns and temples to start his empire, but he had quickly been defeated by Zheng He. Vaas had also told Kali about the British and Irish colonials that once again enslaved the natives in order to make them work in mines to collect the considerable amount of phosphate the island provided; they had done so until it had ran out.

He was about to tell her about the Japanese taking over during World War II when they saw a red jeep similar to the one they were in. Vaas stopped the car and got out to talk to the man riding shotgun.

All Kali could make out was his short black hair and beard, along with his tanned skin. The man seemed to get along with Vaas, since they shook hands and even laughed a couple of times.

The brunette took a deep breath and looked somewhere else when the driver started smirking in her direction. She realized Vaas had left the engine running, which meant she could escape. Or at least, try to, since the others would just pursue her in their car.

Why would she think of escaping anyway? She didn't really have a reason to escape. Vaas had never hurt her, and he had told that they were at war against the natives, which explained why he wandered around carrying guns. She knew he hadn't told her everything yet, and she was afraid of what he had yet to show her.

He had climbed back into his seat, startling her. She had been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't paid attention to him making his way back to the car.

Suddenly, she realized something didn't make sense.

« You know too much about the island's history to be an outsider. » she commented, staring at him as he stepped on the gas and passed by his men once more. « Are you a native? »

« I was born and raised here. » he answered, seeming tense.

« So… Why are you fighting against your people? » she asked again.

« Mind your own fucking business, hermana, okay? » he spat, taking his eyes off the road for a moment to glare coldly at her.

Surprisingly, Kali wasn't scared or intimidated, even though it was the first time she saw Vaas angry at her. Her curiosity had taken over her and she started wondering why he would turn against his own people. She knew if she asked him again the only answer he'd give her would be another scolding or maybe a slap in the face (he seemed like the kind of man who would do that), so the only way she had to find out would be to be quiet and watch.

Vaas had noticed she had become suddenly quiet after his little outburst and decided to test the waters: « It's a long and dark story, but I don't belong with them. » he admitted, but swore to himself that she would not know more about the subject, at least not yet.

« I know what you mean. » she nodded. « Sorry, I won't ask about stuff like that anymore. »

« As long as you don't piss me off you should be okay, hermana. » he said with a hint of coldness in his voice.

Kali decided he was a dangerous, but interesting person, and she couldn't wait to get to know him better. She had always been attracted to mysterious and sinister things; to things most people would run away from. She had always liked the bad guys instead of the heroes, because they had real purposes in the stories, which intrigued her. She considered Vaas as a bad guy, and she wanted to discover his dark secret.

Looking at Vaas from the corner of her eye, Kali also realized, and it scared her to think, that her mind seemed to be clouded in Vaas' presence. She no longer thought rationally and accepted things that she normally would have been afraid of. How could she have so much trust in someone she barely knew; worse, someone she knew was bad for her?

She had no idea where she was, and there was no way to escape. All she could do was deal with it.

Ӂ

After driving on the open road and through some dangerous and smaller roads through the jungle, Vaas finally seemed to have arrived to his destination.

Kali wasn't sure of what to expect. She decided she would just follow Vaas' instructions and she should be okay, pretty much like he had said back in the car.

She watched as he stepped out of the car and did the same, making her way towards him. He turned around and kept walking backwards as he explained to her that they were about to enter a camp.

He never told her what kind of camp it was and if he had she would have probably tried to run away.

Instead, she followed him inside as he turned back around. He was greeted by all the men on their way. Each time it took a little long, Kali took the chance to take in her surroundings. All she saw were shanties and men in red, Vaas' men. The place sort of looked like a small village, and each person seemed to be in duty. She quickly noticed a couple of towers, and saw a man on top of each, as well as two men standing on the highest rooftops; seeing they were carrying sniper rifles, Kali truly felt like she had entered a war zone. Everyone was on the lookout, even when busy with something else. Now that she realized the gravity of the situation, Kali listened in on Vaas' conversations with his men.

« The savages have attacked an outpost near Amanaki Village! »

« A man tried to climb on a radio tower! »

« Two of our men were killed in the jungle! »

They all seemed to complain to him. Vaas suddenly shouted, « HEY! » and everyone stopped in unison.

« We have a guest, you fucks! » he said, much calmly, but some threat still lingering in his tone. « Can't leave for one fucking night, it's the end of the fucking world… » he mumbled under his breath as he motioned for Kali to follow him. He was taking her to a shanty. There was a strong, black man outside, sharpening his knife.

« Welcome back, Boss! » The man quickly stood up and greeted Vaas.

« Thank you, hermano! Do you have anything else to do? » the mohawked man asked.

« No, Boss. Is there anything you want me to do? » the man asked quickly, eagerness in his voice.

« I'm putting my guest in this shanty. You can keep watch over her. » Vaas said.

Kali glared at him, feeling like he was trapping her inside. He noticed her death glare and quickly added: « Make sure no one messes with her, otherwise it's imminent death. No one is to touch her, understood? » he told the man, who quickly nodded.

« Now, show her inside while I take care of business, yeah? » Vaas said again, before turning towards Kali. « I won't take too long. Then, I'll explain to you why I brought you here, hermana. »

Kali nodded and watched him as he left, a trail of the heavy beat of his footsteps following him.

« You should get inside, lady. » said the black man. He seemed like a respectful man, not only in his way of speaking to Vaas, but also in his way of addressing Kali.

She turned to look at the man and her eyes fell upon his biceps, and she took a mental note of never messing with him.

« What's your name? » she asked, curiously, as she slowly made her way towards him, sitting down next to him.

« Gabriel. » he answered. « You? »

« Kali. » she replied.

He stared at her for a long time before quietly saying, « Slayer of Raktabija. »

Kali raised an eyebrow at him and asked, « Are you Hindu? »

« My woman is. She's pregnant. Keeps saying that if it's a girl we'll call her Kali. » a small smile crossed his face, before disappearing just as soon as it had come.

Kali nodded. Gabriel seemed like an okay person, so she decided to ask him a few questions. He couldn't be worse than Vaas…

« So, what are you guys? Some sort of army? »

« I guess you could say we're Pirates. » he shrugged, before asking back, « How come the Boss lets you walk around freely? »

« I don't know. Are the people he usually brings tied up? » she replies, anxious about the answer she would get.

« I wouldn't know. It's the first time the Boss brings someone along with him from the outside. Still, he gave me an order, so you should get inside. » Gabriel said, a slight panic in his deep voice.

« He told you to not let anyone touch me. Anyway, what kind of people are you Pirates, then? » she asked again.

Gabriel looked at the men in the camp and let out a deep breath, before admitting, « Murderers. Terrorists. Psychopaths. Some are trying to make some money to support their families, but once they get here they become all of those things, in order to survive. » he explained.

Kali could see why Vaas had 'invited' her over to his island. He had known she was also a murderer. It didn't seem to scare him in the slightest. He had explicitly told her to follow him, and that if she was of no use to him he would kill her. He had told her he wanted her to start a new life.

« Version 2.0. » she mumbled, remembering Vaas' words.

« What? » Gabriel asked, turning back to look at her.

« Just thinking out loud… » she sighed. « Vaas… told me… » she shook her head and stared at her feet.

« What? »

« Nothing important. » she shrugged. « Just… Do you think he wants me to work for him? »

« As a whore, maybe. » he said, rubbing the back of his neck. When he saw the glare directed at him, he quickly corrected, « It's what the only women around here do. Never seen a woman become a fighter. »

« He brought me here because I killed some people. » she added.

« A lot of whores have killed. » he said nonchalantly. He took in Kali's deadly silence, then said in a softer tone, « I don't think that's why the Boss brought you here, though. But I don't know why it is. He's too unpredictable to tell. »

Kali nodded, then took a deep breath. Her eyes fell upon two Pirates that were arguing over a pig carcass. From what she understood, one of them was supposed to collect the meat for the canteen, while the other claimed he had killed it on purpose to feed the dogs. Before she could comprehend, one of the men had killed the other with a machete.

« What the fuck…? » she whispered. No one had paid attention to the fight! How could this happen without anyone interfering? « Why didn't anyone stop them? »

« Because the Boss is around. » Gabriel said simply.

« Are you all scared of him or what? » it was more of a comment. She clicked her tongue in annoyance.

The sun was high up in the sky by then, and she felt the powerful light burning her thighs. She was about to get up to go inside the shanty when Vaas came back. Like he said, he hadn't been gone for too long and he didn't seem too happy to see Kali sitting outside with Gabriel instead of inside, like he had told her to. He had been so focused on Kali that he hadn't noticed the fallen corpse of one of his men and almost tripped over it. Taking a look and seeing he had been decapitated by a blade, Vaas stood straight and asked in a voice loud enough that Kali could hear: « Who killed him? »

Silence filled the place as all the Pirates stopped doing whatever they were occupied doing and stared at their Boss. The tension was overbearing and Kali felt like she could cut it with a knife.

One of the men stepped forward and fell to his knees in front of Vaas. Kali recognized him as the one that had used the machete.

« I'm sorry, Boss! He started telling me this meat was for his dogs, and wanted to take it from me. » he explained himself, motioning towards the pig carcass he had placed on a large butcher table.

Kali saw Vaas' lips move, but the sound of his gun was too loud for her to understand the words. Another tense silence filled the place until the body of the man fell with a thud.

Vaas shook his head and took a deep breath, putting his gun back in his holster and making his way towards Kali and Gabriel.

« This is why I wanted you inside, chica. » Vaas said, analyzing Kali's shocked expression, which quickly changed to scared when he bent forward to take a good look at her. Kali could see every single drop of blood staining his once handsome face. Now that she saw him for who he really was, or at least she thought she did, she felt minuscule compared to him. From what she had understood, the man killed for a living, and that was something she didn't think she could ever comprehend or accept. Yet again, no matter how monstrous he appeared before her, she still wanted to follow him. The worst that could happen would be a bullet in her head, right? Besides, all the information she had gathered told her that Vaas was giving her a second chance on his island, she could only hope it wasn't as a whore, like Gabriel had mentioned.

« Are you scared of me now? » he asked, staring into her green eyes with his own untamed ones.

« I'd be lying if I said I wasn't… But I'm not scared enough to want to die. Does that even make any sense…? » she wondered, more to herself than to anyone else.

« Yes. You're a killer, not a victim. It might take some time for you to understand that. But you already know that if it takes too long… I'll have to kill you first. » he explained softly.

Another thing Kali had discovered about Vaas was the fact that he was as prone to mood-changing as a little kid, not really caring about the consequences. That was another dangerous trait about him, but she knew that there could be much worse.

For the time being, the best thing she could do was play along with him. Do as he said, if she could. If not, still try to have, or gain, his trust.

« It's time to get down to business, hermana. You still have to past the first test before I decide to let you in on our little party, yeah? » Vaas smirked as he stood straight once again, towering over her.

Kali nodded timidly and stood up, ready to follow him whenever he wanted.

Ӂ

As she followed him around the camp she could feel she had already started to change and it was starting to scare her more than Vaas ever could. She felt like there was no going back, she had been pushed into a corner and would eventually have to become the monster she had been too afraid to confront in the past in order to survive.

« And now, the stars of the show. » announced Vaas as he walked with her into an open space under surveillance. « These are the fuckers that come into my island and think it's some kind of fucking vacation. We capture them, shoot some ransom videos and sell them for a price. Did you get that? »

Kali looked around and saw what the guards were watching over: bamboo cages, with living people inside. She couldn't see them clearly, only the silhouettes, but she could hear their sobs and soft pleads as the Pirates hit the cages with their guns to mess with them as though they were caged animals.

Kali was too shocked to say anything except, « You trade… people. »

« The thing is, Kali, » Vaas moved towards her and placed his arm around her shoulders like the night before in the club. Only this time, she had seen his true face. « Now you know too much for me to let it go. So you can either join me and become my little warrior… Or you can join them, and be nothing more than an object with a price tag on it. Which is it gonna be? »

Kali hadn't felt so betrayed in a long time. Vaas was a cruel man. Promising her a new, improved life. Telling her she would either accept it or be killed, then taking it back and telling her she would be enslaved if she refused, (which didn't make any sense in her opinion, it would be best to kill her if she knew too much, like Vaas had said).

« How do you expect me to make a choice? Can't you just leave me alone? » she mumbled, slowly stepping away from him.

« Don't play with me, hermana. » he warned, lifting his hand to point his index threateningly at her.

« You're the one playing! You said I could either join you or you'd kill me! Go on, then! Keep your word, motherfucker! » she had no idea what was taking over her, but she felt warm all over and could only hear her heartbeat. All of her nerves were on edge, ready to act on impulse. Not only did she refuse to accept the part of her that wanted to join Vaas, but she also refused to die. What was left for her? A life of imprisonment; being nothing more than some rich fucker's sex slave? She wouldn't accept that for anything and everything in the world.

Before Vaas could lift his gun and accomplish the final act, Kali suddenly started running away. She didn't know where to, but she had to run.

She started hearing gunshots directed at her, but Vaas quickly shouted, « STOP SHOOTING, YOU FUCKERS! I WANT HER ALIVE! »

She didn't know if that was a blessing or a curse, but she wasn't willing to stop and think about it either. If she was lucky enough she could find a quiet spot where no one would find her. That was all she needed at the moment, space for herself and time to think.

* * *

 **A/N: There you go for the first chapter! Thank you for taking the time to read, and don't forget to let me know what you think!**

 **See you soon!**


	3. 2 - Vinushka

**A/N: Hi again! Here is the second chapter of the first part of my story, where things get a little wild :)**

 **I would like to thank eroomally once more for being supportive and so kind! I also want to thank MysteryFictions and Naina24 who have also left reviews! As well as all the other shy people like me, who read the stories but rarely leave comments, that's fine too haha**

 **I also would like to add that English is not my first language (Portuguese is, even if I live in France (I'm complicated)), so I'm sorry for the mistakes you might encounter in this story, but I assure you I am doing my best to improve!**

 **Vinushka is a song by Dir En Grey (I looooove this band!)**

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Far Cry 3**_

* * *

 **2 -** _ **Vinushka  
**_

Kali had been running endlessly since she had escaped from the slave camp. She had avoided the roads as much as she could, and was still looking for a calm spot to settle down and gather her thoughts. The jungle was getting thicker and darker as she entered a forest of tall, large tropical trees. The only sound she could hear was that of the nature, the sound of the waves a far distance away, the sound of leaves rustling as an occasional soft breeze caressed them, the bickering of the birds above her… She hadn't heard a gunshot since she had left the camp, however, and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

Looking up, she could make out the position of the sun, which was still high up in the sky, indicating that it was around midday, or at least she thought so. She was slightly disoriented ever since she woke up in the boat and had a hard time realizing exactly where she was, and what time it was.

She took off her leather jacket for the first time since her arrival there and put it on the ground to sit on it. She gathered her legs in her hands and rested her chin on her knees.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves, and thought of all her options. Going back to Vaas was out of the question, she doubted he would accept her back anyways. She remembered he had mentioned they were at war with the natives… Maybe if she tried to find said natives they could help her. Then again, they didn't sound very strong. But they could at least shelter her until she found a way of going away. Her third choice would be to become a survivor and learn how to live in the jungle. That would probably kill her, but she was willing to try it as long as she could remain in the safe shade of the trees; if she pretended she had died the Pirates would stop looking for her and she would be left alone. But something in her stirred when she thought of 'chickening out' and she immediately scratched that thought. She had also thought of finding a spot where she could overlook the island and if possible the shores. Maybe, if she wasn't too far away from Thailand, she could steal a motor boat and make her way out of the island unnoticed. But she would have to make sure it had enough fuel, otherwise she would be stranded in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by the sharks she had seen that morning. If nothing worked she could at least try to kill herself somehow.

« No. » she said softly, thinking out loud. « I won't let myself die. »

Suddenly, she realized what she had to do. Like Vaas had said, the island was at war. It shouldn't be too hard to find weapons. She had already killed twice, nothing would stop her from doing it again. A part of her hated herself for thinking so savagely, yet again, she knew it was the law of the jungle: Kill or be killed. Kali was too far gone to think of following the rules of the world she had once known. This island seemed to be a world completely apart from hers; a world where the only justice is your own, like Vaas had told her. It would be irrational, not to mention suicide, to think of behaving like she used to.

She had to upgrade herself, to become powerful and fearless. Like Vaas.

It irked her to realize that she couldn't stop thinking of him, but then again, he was her only reference in this new environment.

First things first: she had to find a way to get a gun. Thankfully, she knew how to use one (she used to have stupidly dangerous friends back in the States when she was a teenager, and one of their hobbies was to shoot at targets made of used cans and many other useless objects that they would keep for the purpose of training instead of throwing away); the only trouble would be to steal one without being shot first.

She decided she would rest for a while, since it would be impossible to be effective if she was too tired.

She let herself relax as her back hit the grass and she closed her eyes.

'Shit,' she thought, 'Vaas has all of my things!'

She opened one eye and frowned, letting her mouth hang open as she realized her mistake: 'No! We never grabbed them from the boat! Am I really that stupid?'

There was no use in even thinking about her clothes. It wasn't like she could have taken them with her in her speedy escape anyway.

Kali closed her eye once more and took another deep breath. The adrenaline had left her body and she felt like she would collapse if she strained herself any more. Before she realized it, she had drifted into an unexplainable deep sleep. Maybe when she woke up it would all turn out to be nothing more than a bad dream.

Ӂ

A loud gunshot resounded throughout the trees, waking Kali up. She quickly looked around, startled, and was relieved to see nothing more than trees.

She strained her ears, anxious to hear any sound at all. Not 10 seconds after the first gunshot, a disturbing round of multiple shots followed, along with some screams.

Kali had to remind herself that the Pirates were at war with the natives. She took the chance to start moving somewhere else while the Pirates were busy fighting the natives, and if she was lucky they wouldn't find her.

She still couldn't believe that she had fallen asleep in the middle of a jungle situated on an island inhabited by hostile and armed people. To top it off, she noticed the sun had moved quite a bit since the last time she had checked, and felt stupid when she realized she had wasted precious daylight time sleeping instead of finding a secure place to spend the night.

As she moved through the jungle (stopping once for 'personal needs') she tried to climb as much as possible to get a nice vantage point where she could at least analyze her surroundings. Looking up, she saw a radio tower. It seemed about ready to fall apart, and she wondered if it would be a good idea to climb so high without any security. On the other hand, no one would look for her up there, or at least she didn't think so, and she would also be guarded from the wild animals roaming the jungle (she had heard a couple of growls but hadn't stopped to check what kind of predator it was; that would have been nothing more than dumb), or at least she hoped they couldn't climb that high up.

She had reached a clearing, and looked frantically around to make sure that the coast was clear. The last thing she needed would be for a Pirate to see her and start shooting at her. She frowned in thought. Vaas had told his men to stop shooting, saying he wanted her alive. Maybe she would still have a chance of escaping if they weren't allowed to kill her, but it still wouldn't do her any good to be seen wandering around, that could give away her location and she would end up being captured again.

Seeing no one around, Kali quickly climbed the large rocks to get to the elevated ground the radio tower was situated in. It hadn't taken her very long to get there, but when she did, she immediately realized she would be in trouble if she fell. She still had to find a way to climb, which wasn't as simple as she had initially thought. Measuring all her choices, she finally decided to climb the stairs and then sort of escalate her way to the top, nearly falling twice. When she got to the top she felt a sense of victory. She had found a safe place for the night, and she wouldn't be moving anytime soon, not until she had found a plan to move forward. Kali knew it was still early and the sun probably wouldn't set for another four hours or so, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

She had found a large, old-looking chest on a corner of the radio tower and decided to check what was inside. Luckily it was already open, but all she found was an alcohol flask and a heavy flashlight. The latter could always be useful, not only to help her in the dark, but also to knock people out, if she was stealthy enough to hit them in the back of the head without being noticed. She should get used to that plan, because she would most likely have to use it, in order to steal some weapons.

She hadn't decided if she was ready to kill other people, but she knew she would eventually have to do so if she wanted to survive. The reason she wanted weapons was to defend herself, she didn't want to go around killing everything on her sight.

She couldn't help but blame herself, thinking that she never should have followed Vaas. She hadn't even known him and she had blindly believed him. The previous night had been life-changing, even if she hadn't realized it until it was too late. No matter how many times she told herself that she had been foolish and she never should have trusted Vaas, the truth of the matter was that she had chosen her path, and it was a sign that she would have to evolve. Only she didn't think she would ever be ready to do so.

Ӂ

The night had come, and the island was only illuminated by the bright light of the full moon in the clear sky.

Kali's stomach was making a loud, complaining noise; after all, she hadn't eaten anything since the previous night, back in Bangkok. She had already known hunger, and had gotten used to it, but it was never a pleasant feeling. She let the warm breeze caress her skin and took in a deep breath. Instead of the expected smell of the surrounding nature, Kali smelled a foul stench of smoke. She thought it was a mix of plastic and flesh (she had been around a huge fire once and the smell of people being burned alive had been traumatizing for the young woman; she didn't think she could ever forget it). Looking around, she saw a large cloud of smoke elevating from what seemed to be a camp in the distance. She hadn't paid attention during daylight because it mingled with its surroundings, but it became clear in the moonlight, when they lit the fires and turned the lights on. She could make out three shanties and two dark jeeps in the distance. She knew it was a Pirate camp, but she didn't know for sure how many they were, or who was there. She briefly thought about Gabriel, and wondered if he would let her go if she ran into him. She highly doubted it, for the respect he held for Vaas was far superior to the sympathy he could have felt towards her. For all she knew, Vaas could be in the camp she was glaring at. It would be best to stay away from it, as well as all sorts of Pirate gatherings she could find on her way, wherever she was going.

That night she had barely managed to sleep, afraid of falling off the edge of the tower. Instead, she had kept watch over her surroundings. From time to time she would hear a couple of car engines, the occasional shouting before, during and/or after a heavy round of gunshots… She would also hear the animals below her, some hunting, others escaping, and even though she hadn't seen any animal she didn't exactly want to cross paths with one of them either. The sound of the waves seemed louder up in the radio tower than down below. Kali hadn't seen a single pirate wandering around her position, which she thought was a good sign.

Just before the run had risen, Kali had noticed, for the first time, a little old-looking cabin on top of a hillside. Whoever was inside had just turned the light on, which was the only reason Kali had paid any attention to it. She had thought it was just an abandoned cabin and hadn't thought about adventuring that way. Now that she had seen it was inhabited, maybe she could try and make her way over there, and if she was lucky enough, she would meet one of the natives, and maybe he or she could help her out. If not, well… She would have to figure it out then.

And that is when she had started to make her way down, as carefully as she could. Once again, she almost lost her grip a couple of times, but made it down almost as safely as before, excepting she had accidentally cut her arm on a piece of broken metal. Hoping she wouldn't catch some disease, she cleaned the wound the best she could on the fabric of her white tank top and shoved the pain into the back of her mind as she focused on the task at hand. She had to make her way to the cabin, unnoticed, and check the coast. The last thing she wanted was to run into some Pirates, or worse, find out the cabin belonged to Pirates.

She grabbed the heavy flashlight she had found back at the tower from the back pocket of her shorts and as she approached the cabin, she held it ready to knock anyone out. As stealthily as she could, she rounded the house until she could look through a window. All she saw was an old lady with dark skin and white hair. She was standing with her back turned to Kali and seemed to be cutting up some vegetables. Deciding it was safe enough, Kali decided to make her way to the door and gently knock.

A moment later, the old lady opened the door, gasped in surprise, then quickly grabbed Kali's arm and pulled her inside before closing the door behind her.

« Sorry to disturb you, » Kali started, unsure of how to address the older woman.

« Not at all! You shouldn't wander around by yourself, stranger. You risk your life. Or worse, your freedom. » she woman spoke, eyeing Kali eagerly, which perturbed the younger woman.

« Are you a native? » Kali asked as she moved towards a chair and sat down unceremoniously.

« Yes. » the woman nodded as she went back to chopping up vegetables.

Kali was about to comment on how good her English was, when she remembered that Vaas had told her the island had been conquered by the English and Irish colonials. Apparently, the natives had inherited their language, but still had a heavy accent, which led Kali to believe they had their own dialect.

« Whose side are you on, then? » the brunette asked again, crossing her legs and arms in front of her.

« I'm on nobody's side. Nobody's on my side… » she answered, letting her shoulders and head drop quite a bit.

Had Kali not been thinking about how the woman's sentence reminded her of Treebeard from the Lord of the Rings she probably would have felt pity for her.

« That makes sense, I guess… » she commented in a quiet voice.

« I'm Landra, by the way. Who are you, stranger? »

« Kali. »

Silence took over them for a long moment until Landra turned to face Kali and said, « How are you expecting to survive? »

« I have no idea. But if you're willing to help, I'm willing to accept. » Kali replied, silently hoping the woman would at least give her something to eat. Just then, her stomach rumbled loudly, betraying her thoughts, and Landra chuckled slightly before turning back to keep cooking.

« I'm going to give you a taste of Landra's cooking! It's the best of the island! » Landra said cheerfully, making Kali smirk.

« Is that so? I can't wait to try it, then. » she said softly. « How come you've let me in so easily? Aren't you afraid I might hurt you? »

« Not one bit! I know you're not as pure as you look. You heart darkens. But as long as you have some good left in you, you can count on me to help you. » the old woman explained.

Kali dropped her mouth and furrowed her eyebrows in both shock and confusion. Why would a woman she had known for a minute know so much about her? She reminded her of Vaas in a way, giving Kali the impression she could read through her like an open book.

She saw the woman stifling a laugh, much like a child, but remained silent.

« You remind of Vaas. » the woman said, now bearing a serious tone.

« What? » Kali replied almost automatically, her curiosity perking up at the mention of the name. She also found it strange that the woman was thinking along the same lines as her, only for what seemed like a completely different reason.

« So you've met already? »

« I met him in Thailand. He was the one that brought me here. But he wanted me to become a Pirate, so I ran away. » Kali explained, letting out a deep breath.

« Is that so…? That is unheard of. The Vaas, bringing in strangers? » Landra commented, furrowing her eyebrows as she turned back to the stove.

« Most of his men seem to come from the outside. » Kali shrugged, thinking nothing of Landra's comment.

« Yes, but those men are hired by Hoyt Volker. He is the real mastermind controlling the cruel puppet that Vaas has become. » Just as Kali had wanted to ask her more about it, Landra spoke again, « He once used to be an honest boy, loyal to his family and to he native traditions. But he started to change after his mother's death. A few years later, he committed a horrible crime and left, joining Volker and his junkies for good. I think Volker gave him drugs in exchange for his services. » She looked out the window and a shadow of pain and nostalgia crossed her expression. « Vaas Montenegro. That man was born to become someone of authority, respected by his men and feared by his enemies. I wonder if that has yet come true, or if something more is to come. »

Kali had no idea what to think. She couldn't understand what the old woman was saying half of the time, and was frustrated to even try to comprehend in the slightest. All she knew was that Vaas was once good, and had turned bad due to drugs or something of the sort. She got the feeling that he was some sort of legend, and he wasn't even dead yet.

« Do you happen to have any weapons, ma'am? » Kali asked after a long silent moment.

« I do happen to have one, you can have it. I have no intention of using such things. » Landra answered, making her way towards an old wardrobe and grabbing a black 9mm handgun from a drawer before handing it to Kali. « I'm afraid you will be running low on ammunition soon. »

« Okay, I'll take care of it. Thanks. » Deciding she should at least try to lift the mood up a bit, Kali suddenly asked, « Why are you cooking so early in the morning? The sun in barely out. »

« I have my habits. Don't mess with them. » the woman replied, seeming annoyed for the first time, which made Kali chuckle slightly.

After eating, Kali also took advantage of the old woman's kindness to use the bathroom, get cleaned up and such. She had never felt so dirty in her life. Landra had also offered to stitch Kali's wound on her forearm, saying that she would get an infection if it went untreated.

Kali couldn't thank the woman enough for all her help and kindness, and promised she would never bother her again. The woman seemed to have taken a liking to Kali, and seemed almost sad to have to say her goodbyes.

The sun was high in the sky when Kali had left the house and made her way back towards elevated ground.

Ӂ

Kali already felt like a survivor. She had managed to live through a night in the jungle, had cut herself open (accidentally) and been stitched up, had met a native who fed her and managed to get a gun. She felt like she could face any danger, but knew she couldn't.

Whenever things would get too quiet she would think about what she would be doing instead, had she accepted Vaas' offer. But she quickly thought she was better on her own, because she didn't want to be forced to do somebody else's dirty job. Even if she had no certainty that Vaas would be cruel and make her behave like a savage, she was still willing to bet her right hand that he would have made her wish she had died instead.

Once she had reached elevated ground, she looked down at the island stretched before her. She could see the coasts, as well as a couple of Pirate camps. She would have to decide what to do next. She had met a native, excepting Landra wasn't a fighter and refused to take part in any way in the war that was going on. Since there was no way for her to join Vaas after what happened the previous day, maybe she should just try to look for the native fighters, like she had thought before. Maybe she should have asked Landra where she could find them.

She was about to cross the road to go back to the cover of the jungle when a red jeep appeared far down the road, coming in her direction.

All Kali could do was cross the road and hide in the nature once more. Or maybe she could use her gun…

She decided she wasn't ready for that yet and took her chances, slim as they were, to cross the road and hide in the jungle. Unfortunately, she had reacted too late, and the Pirates had clearly seen her and had started yelling before stopping the car in the middle of the road and following her into the thick jungle.

« Come here, bitch! » one of the Pirates yelled, while the other spoke on his walkie-talkie. Kali couldn't make out what he was saying because the other one was being too loud.

Suddenly, a growl could be heard, and the two men started firing at something hidden in the large leaves of the jungle.

Kali had no idea what it was, but took her chance to run away as fast as she could. At least they wouldn't care about her if they were too busy fighting for their lives.

She had no idea how long she had been wandering around, but she was starting to get tired, and most of all, she was losing all hope of getting out safe and sound. She had been hearing a lot of aggressive animal sounds, and had her gun at the ready, but her chances of getting out unscathed were slim. She felt trapped and wished for it all to be just a nightmare.

The growls were getting closer and closer, and she had decided to just stop moving and stand, closing her eyes and listening to the sounds.

Something was moving heavily on her left. And fast. She quickly started running in the opposite direction, but soon found herself to be lost and disoriented again.

The animal that she had heard before was chasing her, and when she looked back she was horrified to see the untamed figure of a brown bear, rapidly closing in on her on all fours. Her fear caused her to trip, and the beast was quick to move onto her, ready to claw her guts out when the loudest and most violent sound she had ever heard erupted and she saw an explosion before the bear collapsed to the side, dead.

« How did you like my island, hermana? »

* * *

 **A/N: There you go! Personally, I absolutely loved writing this chapter, and I have to say I'm kind of proud of it! Let me know what you think!**

 **See you soon :)**


	4. 3 - Merciless Cult

**A/N: Hey! So, I have to apologize for not publishing for a few days, but I have decided that I will publish a chapter every few days from now on, so that I can move forward with the story before I publish it. I'm not sure when I'll update the next chapter, but I assure you it won't take too long.**

 **I would like to thank everyone who took notice of my story and followed, favorited and commented, I really appreciate it and it makes me want to keep going, so if you like this story, know that in order to motivate me a little interaction is very welcome :)**

 **Also, special thanks to eroomally, the first person who actually took an interest to this story, I'll never forget that! :)**

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Farcry 3 or any of its characters. However, I do own Kali, as well as my other OC's**_

 **Merciless Cult is another song by Dir En Grey (I love them to death!)**

* * *

 **3 -** _ **Merciless Cult  
**_

Something crawled on her tanned skin, urging her to wake up. She opened her eyes and glared at the beetle that had taken a liking to her. When she tried to move her arm to take it off she realized she had been tied to something behind her. Looking up, she realized she was inside a bamboo cage. One of the cages she had seen at Vaas' camp, to be precise.

She also noticed she wasn't alone. A blonde woman that seemed about the same age as her was also tied up (and still out of it), as well as two other guys who were observing Kali silently, a helpless look plastered on their faces. One had short, light brown hair and dark eyes. He was missing his shirt, showing the bruises hiding beneath the dirt. The other guy was just as dirty, but had managed to keep his shirt. He had shoulder-length blond hair that fell wildly around his face as his dark blue eyes stared at Kali. She looked away and started searching for any signs of familiar faces, like Gabriel, or even Vaas. All she saw were the guards she had seen before. She was gathering her courage to talk to one of them when the blond guy in front of her whispered, « I'm Greg. »

Kali turned her head to stare at him, wondering if he realized how grave the situation was. She rolled her eyes and lowered her head, sighing as she stared at her boots.

« This is Michael, and the girl is Debbie. » Greg continued, not feeling discouraged in the slightest by Kali's lack of interest. « And you? »

« I'm annoyed. » she replied, loud enough for one of the guards to hear her.

The Pirate turned around and crouched down until he was at eye level with her. He was strong and dark skinned, like most of the Pirates she had seen on the island, wearing a red bandanna on his forehead and his hair was a heavy mess of dark dreadlocks. He narrowed his dark eyes as he looked into her light ones, studying her.

« Stop staring at me, fucker. » she spat, glaring daggers at him.

« Oi! » he shouted and hit the cage hard with his assault rifle. « Don't mess with me bitch! Vaas! » he yelled louder, calling for his boss.

« What?! » came Vaas' voice from a distance.

« She's awake! » the man yelled one last time before standing up.

Not a minute later, Kali heard the heavy footsteps of the Pirate Lord as he marched down towards her. The Pirate in the dreadlocks stepped away as his Hispanic boss reached them and crouched down, much like he had.

Kali noticed he had changed his clothes. He was now wearing a red tank top that revealed his muscled arms, black cargo pants tucked inside sand-covered black combat boots.

« So you're awake, huh? » he asked, his voice softer than she would have expected.

His eyes moved to the other prisoners in her cage, and once the guys looked down in fear he turned back to Kali. « Kali. » he called, seeing that she was looking at her boots again.

Upon hearing her name she looked back at Vaas, biting her lip anxiously.

« You've disappointed me. » he admitted, sighing dramatically. « I mean, who do you take me for, hm? I bring you to my island, offer you a job… And you run away? » he truly seemed disappointed, which troubled Kali. Why would he even care about her? She was just another body to sell, or to kill.

« What's the big deal? I never asked for this. » she replied, shaking her head.

« You did. »

« No. »

« Yes. »

« I didn't! You told me I could either work for you, or you would kill me! » she yelled at him, angry. She hated being lied to. « You lied to me! »

« No, I just changed my mind. » he shrugged. She was surprised he was behaving so calmly. « Why did you run away? » he asked again.

« Why do you care? »

« The only reason you're still alive is because I do care a little bit. I like you, but you're turning out to be a bitch. So maybe I should just sell you to a rich guy looking for a good fuck. You're fucking hot, too, so more money for me. » he laughed, scratching the back of his head with the handgun he was holding.

Kali let out a deep breath and stared at him, thinking of what to say to save her case. But she had too much pride to beg, especially when she didn't have much to lose.

« How would you like that, hermana? To be an old fuck's sex slave? » Vaas insisted, passing his hand through the bars and reaching for her chin, turning her head to take a better look at her.

« Fuck you. » she muttered.

« You could do that too. » he grinned, now softly caressing the side of her face. « And no matter how much I want that, I'm not going to pay with my money for an ungrateful bitch to suck my dick. » His tone turned cold and his hand left her face and gripped the bars tightly instead.

« I owe you my life, I guess… » she said softly. « You talked me out of suicide, and you saved me from a bear. »

« The first doesn't count. » he replied. « That was your choice. »

She nodded, regretting ever making that choice.

« You do whatever you want with me. » she shrugged, too tired to care.

« I will. » he answered, before shouting at Greg, « Look down, you fuck! Don't you know better than to invade other people's privacy?! »

Kali turned her head to glance at the blond mess before looking back at Vaas.

« Do you understand what it has come to, hermana? » he asked her, staring deep into her eyes, looking for any signs of weakness but finding none. She was determined to get free, but all her hope was crushed when he said, « I will kill you, or sell you. »

He suddenly stood up and started to walk away, when Kali called after him, « Vaas! »

He stopped dead in his tracks and turned his head to look at her, his eyes filled with curiosity.

« Why don't you just kill me? » she surprised herself. She didn't want to die, why would she provoke him so stupidly?! Sure, she didn't want to be sold, but she wanted to die even less! At least, if she was sold, she could always find a way of escaping.

Vaas tensed at her question and spat on the ground before walking away, leaving an anxious Kali behind.

His tension seemed to remain, however, as silence took over the place. No one spoke for a long moment, not even the guards, who watched their leader as he stomped his way towards a shanty and entered, snapping the door shut behind him violently.

The first to break the silence was the blond prisoner sharing Kali's cage.

« So… You know him? » he asked in a whisper, eyeing Kali strangely.

She glared at him, but didn't answer. The man was getting on her nerves, and she didn't want to get upset and draw attention to herself.

Seeing that he wouldn't get an answer from the brunette, he turned his head to his friend and they started talkin about the strange scene that took place, thinking Kali couldn't hear them.

« Who is this chick, dude? » asked Greg, nodding in Kali's direction.

She merely rolled her eyes and leaned her head against the bars behind her, looking up at the starry sky.

« I don't know man, but she knows that psycho. » replied Michael, his friend, not so quietly.

« And she looks like she wants to kill someone, » added Greg.

« She probably does. »

« How come that son of a bitch didn't hit her like he did everyone else? »

« I don't know… Maybe he likes her? » answered Michael, throwing a confused look at Kali, thinking she had no idea what they were talking about.

« Yeah! He said he did! That must be it. Maybe they used to be together, but broke up and now he's pissed at her and wants her to suffer! » Greg exclaimed, excitement on his voice.

« I can't believe you're that fucking stupid… » Kali muttered, glaring at the two guys.

« Wh-What do you mean? » Michael asked, frowning back at her.

« You're tied up in a cage, on an island in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by armed Pirates. And you're worried about my love life…? » she resumed, trying to make them understand how dumb they were being.

« She's right. » Michael said, turning back to his friend. « How are we going to get out of here, dude? »

« Hell if I know… » Greg took a deep breath and looked back at the guards before an enlightened expression took over his features.

« What? Did you figure something out? » Michael asked, urging his friend to speak.

« Yeah, they really were together, man! »

« What? »

« This chick and that psycho! She just said 'my love life' what do you think that means? Man, that's a messed up relationship… » Greg shook his head in disbelief.

Kali dropped her mouth and stared at the young man, worried for his mental health.

« I can hear you, you know… » she replied, no longer whispering. The Pirate in the dreadlocks heard her and turned around, hitting the cage once more with his rifle.

« Shut up, bitch! You're not allowed to talk! »

« Go fuck yourself! » she spat back at him, angering him.

« Don't make me come inside and beat the shit out of you, woman! » he threatened, crouching down once more to take a better look at her face.

« Go ahead. I'm sure Vaas would like to see that. » she shrugged.

« Don't act so high and mighty just because you're the Boss' bitch. In case you didn't notice he doesn't give a shit about you, or do you think this is special treatment? » he said, poison lingering in his tongue. « You'll end up like all the other whores around here. Dead from choking on too much dick. »

Kali reacted before she could comprehend and spat in his face, literally. She had never liked spitting, and she had never had good aim, but for once in her life she had spat in someone's face, and it felt better than she could have ever imagined. But at the same time, it was frustrating. She wanted to do more, but was being held back by the cage she was imprisoned in, not to mention the roped tying her hands to it.

« You're gonna get it know! » The guard said angrily after wiping her saliva off his face.

« SHUT THE FUCK UP! » she shouted, every nerve in her body itching to make use of some good old-fashioned violence.

The man seemed to freeze when she snapped and dropped his mouth slightly. For the first time in his life he had been intimidated by a girl; a girl that reminded him of his fearless leader.

He took a step back and shook his head, muttering under his breath as he went back to his original spot.

Kali couldn't believe he had backed off after her outburst. She could have sworn he would truly beat her up, but instead he had just done as she had told him and stepped back, pretending nothing had ever happened. She could see him talking with another Pirate, but couldn't hear their words.

« Shit, she's just as scary as that psycho… » muttered Michael, glancing worriedly at his friend who nodded in agreement.

Ӂ

He shut the door violently behind him, in hopes of letting out the frustration he had been holding back during his talk with his newest acquisition.

Vaas hated Kali. He really did. He hated himself even more for being drawn towards her. He thought he had lost all that was left of his humanity, if you could call it that. He used to see people, but that slowly changed to bodies, and soon after to objects. That was all she was supposed to be: an object for him to use as he pleased. So why had she ran away? More importantly, why didn't he kill her when he had the chance?

Not that she would go anywhere anytime soon, but still, she had ran away once.

Vaas had always been the unpredictable kind, especially since his experimentations with drugs. He was unpredictable to a point where he himself rarely knew how he would react. He was a dangerous man carrying weapons and controlling an army of enraged men. So why wasn't she afraid of him like everyone else? He absolutely hated her. Then, how could he behave so calmly around her when all his nerves told him to kill her? At the same time, he loved that he was curious because that rarely happened lately. For the first time in a long time, he felt like someone was pushing him against a wall. And yet again, she was the one tied up.

All his thoughts were confusing and blurry when it came to her. Whenever he thought of her he would get images of her inside his head, and he completely loathed it. They didn't do her justice, either. She was a rare beauty. And Vaas, being the alpha male that he was felt obliged to make her his, to prove that he had the best female. Not only was she as beautiful as the 8th wonder of the world, she was also smart and a fighter (he had seen it as soon as he had set his eyes on her). She was the perfect woman for him. If she hadn't ran away he would have made her his. But she had let him down. For once in his life, Vaas had decided to trust someone (just a tiny bit, but still). And she had let him down. Just like everyone else. She was no different from them. Just looked better.

« SHUT THE FUCK UP! »

Her voice startled him and his hand reached instinctively towards his gun, forgetting he had never put it down and had been holding it tightly as he sat on the chair, staring at the used wooden floor, lost in his thoughts.

Why would she start shouting like a crazy bitch so suddenly? Was she out of her mind? The Rook Islands seemed to do that a lot. More importantly, none of his men had shouted back.

A long moment passed silently as Vaas debated whether he should go see what had happened or if he should just ignore it. If he went back, Kali would probably think that he had come to give her an answer. Knowing himself, Vaas' answer would probably be a bullet, but he wanted her alive. Why, he had no idea. Since when did he debate whether he should kill someone or not, anyways? He knew Kali was too invaluable to be killed. But he hated her and wanted her dead! He had never questioned himself so much, never ignored his instincts and fought his urges so much. Only since he had met her.

A loud knock on the door interrupted his train of thought once more.

« What? » he replied, sighing loudly.

« Hoyt is here, Boss. » said Gabriel, his most trusted man at the slave camp.

Vaas frowned and looked at the Pirate with a confused look.

« Why the fuck is he here? » Vaas asked quickly, his voice sounding panicked. He didn't want him to see Kali. He didn't want for her to be taken away from him. Not again.

« He came with a customer, apparently. That guy with the Bambi tattoo. » Gabriel informed, stepping away as his leader passed him to exit the shanty.

« If they ask, the woman is already taken. » Vaas said hurriedly as he made his way towards the cages, knowing his boss would be there.

Gabriel didn't need to ask which woman he was talking about, because he knew his Boss well enough, and he had never ever seen him bring an outsider whenever he came back from Thailand.

« Where's Hoyt? » Vaas asked the Pirates as he approached the cages.

« With the Rejects. » The man answered quickly.

Vaas threw a glance at Kali, who ignored him by closing her eyes, before nodding and slowly walking away, hoping his boss hadn't come to check on the prisoners and show them to Buck.

Buck was a cheap customer of theirs, and he often bought young men for his sick pleasures. Vaas had never liked him and his Australian accent, and had never bothered to hide it. Buck wasn't a threat, since he didn't have nearly enough money to buy Kali, if she had a price. However, if Hoyt found an interest in her, Vaas had no idea what to do about it.

Hoyt and Buck were talking together, and Hoyt seemed to be annoyed by the bearded man, and trying not to show it.

Hoping they wouldn't find Kali, Vaas joined them.

Ӂ

Thankfully, Hoyt and Buck didn't seem to be interested in the caged prisoners. Buck was so cheap he had wanted to buy a Reject instead of a real prisoner. Vaas and Hoyt both told him that he had been used and abused, but the Australian man didn't seem to care. As long as he had a young man it would suit him fine. They all ended up dead anyways, so he preferred to take someone with less value.

Before leaving, Hoyt mentioned the blonde woman (that happened to be in same cage as Kali) and said he had found a buyer, and that she would be very profitable so she wasn't to be hurt. He had wanted to go and see her, but his helicopter had arrived just then, and he had left instead.

Vaas breathed deeply after his boss had left, letting out all the tension he had been holding in. He was glad Hoyt hadn't seen Kali, but he still wasn't sure what to do with her. He wouldn't sell her. She was too precious to be used for someone else's pleasure. He wanted her for himself, but he didn't want to buy her. Maybe he should just kill her.

* * *

 **A/N: Here it is! Don't forget to let me know what you think, and thanks for reading!**


End file.
